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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27127244">Warmth</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PersonifiedKat/pseuds/PersonifiedKat'>PersonifiedKat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Experiments and Throat Punches [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Last Kids on Earth (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dirk being a strong boy, Dirk is stubborn, Dirk whump, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, M/M, Sick Character, Swearing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:27:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,790</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27127244</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PersonifiedKat/pseuds/PersonifiedKat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Things were truly on the up and up. In fact, things couldn’t possibly get better. Well… considering the world had ended and all.<br/>Yeah, Dirk thought with a groan, wiping sweat from his brow on the back of a wrist, Things can’t get any better, but they can always get worse.<br/>Honestly, Dirk should’ve known things had been too quiet lately. </p><p>In which things have been pretty chill lately, so of course Dirk just has to get sick.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Quint Baker/Dirk Savage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Experiments and Throat Punches [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923973</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>73</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Warmth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Okay... AO3 is driving me insane with all these bugs.<br/>I had a whole message that I have now had to re-type three times, and I'm honestly over it.<br/>All y'all need to know is that this one is set somewhere between 'Logic can't help us now' and 'Thought you should know'.<br/>Sorry for being so bland, I swear I had a great detailed explanation for everything but... AO3 is a douche-canoe.<br/>As always, if you don't like m/m or this pairing in particular, feel free to move along. Otherwise, enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Honestly, Dirk should’ve known things had been too quiet lately. Well, too be fair, things had been too quiet for a <em>really long time</em>.</p><p>It had been nearly a month since the last major monster battle, long enough that any and all injuries had long since healed over and were well on their way to scarring. The zombies that once infested the suburbs of Wakefield must have left for greener pastures (or gotten tired of their food biting back), because, while there were still a few stragglers here and there, the bulk of them were nowhere to be found.</p><p>On top of all that, Dirk’s garden was growing <em>perfectly</em>, June and Jack had finally stopped playing dumb and were sorting their shit out, and Quint was nearing yet another one of his scientific breakthroughs (Dirk <em>really </em>hoped it was jet packs).</p><p>Things were truly on the up and up. In fact, things couldn’t possibly get better. Well… considering the world had ended and all.</p><p><em>Yeah</em>, Dirk thought with a groan, wiping sweat from his brow on the back of a wrist, <em>Things can’t get any better, but they can always get worse.</em></p><p>He finished tolling the dirt on the far side of his garden, which had seriously expanded over the two years since the treehouse had become their home. He was getting ready to plant broccoli and radishes, some of his favourite late summer veggies, but what was generally pleasantly light work had felt unusually draining since the moment he’d collected his tools that morning.</p><p>He sat back from the bent over position he’d been using to line up seeds in the freshly stirred dirt, wiping at his brow yet again and exhaling deeply. His energy was so low today. He could feel a familiar ache settling deep in his bones, and he groaned at the mere thought.</p><p><em>Just walk it off, Dirk, </em>he told himself with a huff<em>, if you ignore it, you’ll get over it</em>.</p><p>Just as he was about to shake off the moment of weakness, he heard a voice call his name.</p><p>“Dirk! Dirk!” Quint hollered from the base of the treehouse.</p><p>“What?” Dirk yelled back, eloquent as always. Quint jogged a few steps closer to where Dirk was still kneeling on the ground.</p><p>“Jack just sent a message over the walk-y to say that he has found some of the mechanical parts I require to finish several of my projects!” Quint exclaimed, practically vibrating with giddy energy. Dirk felt drained just looking at him.</p><p>“Okay, that’s awesome and all, but what’s it got to do with me?” Dirk asked, already fearing the worst. At the sudden appearance of Quint’s best ‘please help me, I’ll be nice to you forever’ face, Dirk could tell he was right on the money.</p><p>“The items have been blocked by debris that neither June nor Jack are able to dislodge, they require our assistance.” Quint explained, his big brown eyes staring imploringly into Dirk’s. Dirk rolled his eyes.</p><p>“And by ‘our’ you really mean mine.” Dirk clarified, already shoving his tools back into his gardening bag.</p><p>What? You really think Dirk could say <em>no</em> to Quint’s puppy dog eyes? Hah, not likely.</p><p>“<em>Please.” </em>Quint begged, probably for the sake of it more so than for the actual affect, since Dirk clearly didn’t need much more convincing.</p><p>“Alright, alright, just gimme a second to put my shit away.” He grumped. Just as Dirk made to stand, swinging his bag onto one-shoulder, the bone-weariness he’d been feeling all day made him stumble. He took a knee, trying to regain his bearings as his head swam.</p><p>“Whoa, Dirk are you alright?” Quint asked, concern evident in his voice. Dirk shook the bleariness from his eyes.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m fine.” He said, trying to keep his exhaustion out of his tone, “Just a little tired today. Guess I didn’t sleep well or somethin’.” This time, when he made to stand, he was careful to adjust his stance. When he looked over at the little nerd, he didn’t seem entirely convinced.</p><p>“Are you certain? You are looking rather pale.” The smaller boy noted, walking closer and reaching up a hand, clearly intending to compare Dirk’s temperature against his own skin. With his own hand, Dirk intercepted the Quint’s midair, redirecting it down and away.</p><p>“I said I’m good. Probably just low blood sugar. I’ll be fine.” He squared his shoulders and stared down at the other boy’s skeptical eyes. After a moment, Quint relented, though he still seemed unsure.</p><p>“Alright, if you feel that is the case, you ought to grab something to eat before we leave.” Quint turned away, heading towards the street, “I will grab Big Mama and bring her around the front.”</p><p>“Sounds like a plan. I’ll just grab a protein bar.” Quint waved a hand in acknowledgement, but didn’t turn around. Dirk sighed, bringing a hand up to pinch at the bridge of his nose.</p><p><em>Just keep your shit together long enough to help Quint, then sleep it off when you get back,</em> Dirk told himself.</p><p>“Alright, good plan.” He mumbled to himself, before heading off to get ready to go.</p><p> </p><p>~.◊.~</p><p> “Whoa, that’s a lot of book shelves.” Dirk whistled, staring at the jumbled mess in front of him.</p><p>“We’re in a library, what do you expect.” June rolled her eyes, crossing her arms for good measure. Dirk huffed in response, but let the quip slide.</p><p>“Yeah, and they’re all crazy heavy.” Jack added, “No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t get them to budge.”</p><p>“Uh, no duh,” This time it was Dirk’s turn to roll his eyes. He walked over to the closest shelf, which was still largely upright, as it was propped up by its fallen brethren. He gave the wood an experimental knock, listening to the sound and nodding to himself, “Yep, that’s some serious red oak. That’s dense as shit.”</p><p>“Why is it that you always seem to know everything about very niche topics?” June asked with a raised brow.</p><p>“All I did was pay attention in shop class. Nothing to get worked up about.” Dirk said with a shrug. He moved around the shelf, trying to gauge the best angle for leverage. When he selected his preferred course of action, he looked back at the others. “Okay, I think I should be able to get the shelves, But the books are gonna be annoying.” </p><p>“No problem.” Jack nodded, already moving to collect some of the fallen texts, “We’ll deal with the small stuff, and you can do the heavy lifting.”</p><p>“Gee, why does that sound familiar?” Dirk grumbled. Quint caught his eye, an armful of books already stacked in his skinny arms.</p><p>“Your strength is truly invaluable!” Quint encouraged with a smile. Dirk, felt his cheeks heat up, and turned back to the newly emptied shelf.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, quit buttering me up.” He huffed, moving to grip the shelf on both sides. With a grunt, Dirk pulled the shelf up from its leaned position, pivoted slightly, then launched it off to the side and out of the way. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the others stop to gape, and heard a hushed “What does this guy <em>eat</em>?” from Jack.</p><p>They continued on for the next half hour, with the smaller three teens clearing a path for Dirk, who made short work of the heavy shelves. However, as they neared the final few still blocking the way, Dirk was starting to feel the strain.</p><p>And clearly, it was noticeable to the others as well.</p><p>“Hey, Dirk, you doing alright?” Jack asked when he caught Dirk leaning on a freshly righted shelf to catch his breath.</p><p>“I’m fine.” Dirk gritted out, “It’s not like throwing shelves around is a walk in the park.”</p><p>“I’ve seen your throw worse and not need to take breathers.” Jack remarked, clearly skeptical. Over Jack’s shoulder, Dirk could see Quint had paused in his book collecting, watching the interaction with concern. The largest teen straightened.</p><p>“I said I’m fine.” Dirk reaffirmed, “Now, there’s only a few more shelves to go and then we can grab the tech and get out of here.” He stated, brushing past Jack to collect another shelf. He squatted down, getting a good grip on one end of the shelf so he could push it upwards. He made it most of the way to standing, stepping under the load to getting a better angle, when his vision suddenly went blurry. He stumbled, losing his grip on the heavy shelf as he fell.</p><p>As he saw the huge block of furniture bearing down on him, he couldn’t help but think, <em>huh, this really wasn’t how I expected to die</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Next thing he knew, he was staring up at the library’s ceiling, three concerned faces framing the view.</p><p>“Dude! What the hell was that!?” Jack exclaimed, gesticulating frantically at Dirk’s prone form, “You literally just passed out while holding a four-hundred pound shelf over your head!”</p><p>“Yeah, if I hadn’t pulled you out of there before it landed on you, you’d be a pancake right now.” June agreed, arms crossed.</p><p>Dirk blinked at his friends, shifting to get his elbows under him. Even that small action made his vision blacken. He fell back to the ground with a groan.</p><p>He sensed one of the three other teens squatting down beside him, then felt a hand rest gently on his forehead. It felt cool against his skin.</p><p>“I <em>knew </em>it!” He heard Quint gasp, “You have a fever!” Dirk quirked open an eye.</p><p>“Yeah, no kidding.”</p><p>“Wait, you <em>knew</em>?” June griped, “You knew you were sick and you still decided to play chicken with these monster shelves?”</p><p>“Well I didn’t see any of you having much luck on your own.” Dirk pointed out, “And Quint needs the tech.”</p><p>“The tech can wait.” Quint snapped, shifting around Dirk’s body, “The tech is certainly not worth you hurting yourself because you will not admit you are sick.” The smaller boy pushed his hands underneath Dirk’s broad shoulders and made to help him up.</p><p>Once Dirk was seated more upright, Quint knelt in front of him.</p><p>“We are bringing you back to the treehouse where you will lie down and take a break. You need to rest.” Dirk tried to look annoyed, but his head was starting to hurt too much to focus properly, “We can come back and retrieve the tech once you have recovered.”</p><p>Dirk tried to come up with an argument, then realized it really wasn’t worth it.</p><p>“Fine.” He relented, reaching up to let Jack and June help him stand.</p><p>The second they had him settled in Big Mama, he passed out.</p><p> </p><p>~.◊.~</p><p> </p><p>Dirk felt his awareness returning to him in inches. At first, it was the sounds of light footsteps padding all around him. Then, the feeling of whatever soft, cushiony surface he was swaddled in dipping down under someone else’s weight. Next, a heavenly smell, so warm and familiar.</p><p>When he finally found the energy to open his eyes, it was to warm brown eyes staring down at him and gentle hands playing through his hair. He was sure he must’ve died and gone to heaven.</p><p>Then he remembered heaven was probably not where he was going to end up.</p><p>“Hey.” Quint said, barely more than a whisper. Dirk blinked.</p><p>“Hey.” He croaked back, throat dry from hours spent asleep.</p><p>“How are you feeling?” Quint asked, stilling a hand on Dirk’s forehead just as he’d done before.</p><p>“Really cozy.” Dirk mumbled, still slightly dazed. After a moment he frowned, “This feels way nicer than the couch.” </p><p>“That is because it is my bed.” Quint said, clearly amused by Dirk’s babbling. It took Dirk a moment to absorb what the boy had said.</p><p>“Wow, your bed is really nice.” He said, snuggling deeper into the blankets. Quint just laughed.</p><p>“Well, you definitely still have a fever, though I think it will break soon.” Quint noted, turning his upper body to retrieve something from nearby, “However, you really should eat. It has been a long time since you have been awake long enough to consume anything.”</p><p>At this comment, Dirk focused back on the boy sitting next to him.</p><p>“Wait, how long have I been out?” Dirk asked with a frown. Quint faced him once again, this time cradling a large bowl in his hands.</p><p>“Nearly two days now. You woke up periodically, but you were usually quite delirious.” Quint mentioned, stirring the bowl’s contents with a spoon, “You were clearly in much worse shape than you were willing to let on.” Dirk groaned.</p><p>“Damn, guess so.” He motioned to the bowl with his head, “What’s in there anyway. It smells amazing.”</p><p>“I am not surprised, it is one of your recipes.” Quint said with a smile, “It is your potato and carrot soup. June helped me cook up a batch earlier this afternoon. It is quite good and not too hard to cook, even for me.”</p><p>“Wow, I’m proud of you.” Dirk laughed. Quint nudged him teasingly with his knee.</p><p>“Hey, I am improving!” Quint asserted, amusement evident in his voice, “Perhaps one day my culinary skills will best even yours.”</p><p>“Keep dreamin’, pipsqueak.” Dirk chuckled, smiling at the smaller boy’s enthusiasm. Quint rolled his eyes playfully, setting down the bowl for a moment. He leaned back over Dirk, reaching to adjust the larger boy until he was propped up taller against the head board. When Dirk tried to position his hands to receive the bowl, Quint brushed them aside.</p><p>“You likely have very little energy right now, seeing as you have now been battling this illness for several days without having eaten in a fairly long time.” Quint explained at Dirk’s confused stare, “I will not watch you drop my culinary masterpiece all over my own bed.”</p><p>“So what, you’re gonna feed it to me?” Dirk asked, still confused.</p><p>“Yep!” Quint said brightly, already holding up a spoon full of the heavenly smelling soup. Dirk blinked at it for a moment, before hesitantly opening his mouth to receive the food. Once it hit his tongue, he groaned.</p><p>“Damn, that tastes good.” Dirk admitted. He was waiting for the next spoonful so intently, that he completely missed Quint’s dark skin flushing with colour.</p><p>“Well, I am, uh, pleased that you think so.” Quint stuttered, bringing another spoonful to Dirk’s lips.</p><p>They fell into a routine, swiftly and efficiently emptying the bowl and filling Dirk’s previously empty stomach. The larger boy leaned back with a pleased hum.</p><p>“Feeling better?” Quint asked, setting the empty dishes aside.</p><p>“Yeah, much better.” Dirk admitted with a contented sigh. He cracked open one eye to look at his friend, “It’s kinda nice getting taken care of.”</p><p>Quint halted in his task, turning back to look at Dirk properly.</p><p>“Wait… Has no one ever taken care of you when you were sick before?” He asked. At Dirk’s blank stare, he added, “Not even your parents?”</p><p>Dirk stiffened, looking away from the other boy. He brought up a hand to rub at his neck.</p><p>“Ehn, not really.” He said with a shrug, “Guess it never really came up.”</p><p>Quint watched the boy next to him, confused by the thought that the other boy had never been in this position before. He wanted to press further, but reading the other boy’s body language, decided against it.</p><p>“I guess I envy the fact that you do not get sick very often.” Quint said instead, “Being stuck in bed can be pretty miserable after enough time.”</p><p>“Well, it’s pretty nice so far.” Dirk chuckled, smiling at the boy sitting next to him, “Thanks Quint. You’re way too good to me.”</p><p>Quint flushed under his gaze, scratching a non-existent itch as he looked away.</p><p>“It is nothing. Truly. What are friends for?” Quint babbled, choosing to busy himself gathering the dishes, “I will go make some tea. You need to hydrate.”</p><p>“Okay doctor Quint.” Dirk said with a smile, eyes growing tired once again, “Hurry back soon. You were keeping me warm.”</p><p>Quint startled at the comment, trying to find something to say in response when he suddenly heard a loud rumbling noise. A glance over his shoulder showed him that Dirk had once again fallen asleep. Quint sighed, a soft smile settling over his features as he watched the larger boy’s chest rise and fall with each snore. He turned to continue his mission for tea, stopping to turn off the light.</p><p>“If it is my warmth you want…” Quint mumbled softly, looking back at Dirk’s peaceful expression, “then my warmth you will have.”</p><p>With that, he left the room, knowing he wouldn’t be gone for long.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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